Several Northampton County Council members on Wednesday aired their complaints about the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone, a unique taxing district in which all state and local taxes except real estate taxes are withheld to help build a hockey arena in Center City.

A number of municipalities, including Hanover and Bethlehem townships, have become part of a lawsuit to fight the legislation, which would require them to forfeit earned income tax revenues from their employees who work within the 130-acre zone.

County Council members stopped well short of endorsing an official position but made it clear they, too, oppose the NIZ.

Northampton County had proposed two sites, one in Palmer Township and another in South Bethlehem, but lost out to Allentown. Board President John Cusick said he was surprised to learn the team owners had chosen the more dense Center City location over two with better highway accessibility and more room for parking.

It started to make sense, he added, when he learned about the funding mechanism.

"From an economic development standpoint, how do we compete with that?" he said. "How do our developers or someone that wants to develop office space in Northampton County compete with subsidized space in the city of Allentown."

The NIZ puts the county at a competitive disadvantage, he added, drawing nods from other members of the board after Wednesday's Finance Committee meeting.

He said he'd like to urge the area's state senators and representatives to repeal the NIZ-creating legislation and enable Northampton County to compete on a level playing field.

Councilman Bob Werner said he was personally offended by the way things went down, and like Cusick, feared the county would lose business to the special taxing zone.

County Executive John Stoffa shared similar concerns but seemed to steer the council members from jumping into an official position.

"The worst thing is, you put a stop to it and then Allentown has a big hole right in the middle of it," he said.